HydroTherapy
by Tari Roo
Summary: Kono knew that this day was going to suck as soon as she got out of bed, Now, hours later, she was just thrown into the middle of the ocean by the bad guys and has to keep herself and her unconscious boss floating and alive


Hydro-therapy

Author: Tari_Roo

Rating: PG (Gen)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I profit from nothing. Although if I had my way Steve would be bare-chested even more than he is, we would actually 'see' Danny trying to surf and Kono would be a secret Cylon. That is all.

Summary: Prompt fill for Hawaii_50_hc commentfic meme – saphirablue's prompt was: Kono knew that this day was going to suck as soon as she got out of bed and stubbed her toe on the nightstand. Now, hours later, she was just thrown into the middle of the ocean by the bad guys and has to keep herself and her unconscious boss floating and alive until Chin and Danny find them...

*h50*

Kono loved the ocean. It was hard not to. Wild, free, untameable. A living mirror of the heavens and a deep, unknowable chasm in the same instant. The giver of life and hiss of death on your neck. Angry and serene. Beautiful and deadly.

"Boss? Boss. Come on, wake up."

The luxury yacht was no longer in sight. The perps making good their getaway. The ocean was little too choppy for comfort, the wind picking up, the swell rising.

"Boss? Steve?"

Kono clutched her Boss close to her chest, the rescue hold making it a little tough to see if he was any closer to consciousness but at least his head was definitely out of the water. She did have a good view of the growing bruise on his forehead, the trail of still seeping blood from the head wound diluting in the constant spray.

"McGarrett?"

She wasn't tired – not yet. Not by a good stretch. It was too far to swim, even by herself, impossible with toting McGarrett. Ohau was in 'that' general direction, behind her, towards the sun. And so was help. Normally, it would have been Danny hot on Steve's tail, hard on his heels as the Boss pursued the suspects. It should have been Danny leaping onto the boat, backing up his partner. But William's ACL was acting up, badly. So no running. And definitely no jumping onto getaway boats.

"Hey, Boss. How long can you tread water?"

Kono laughed to herself and gently twisted in the water, so that she and Steve would be able to see when help was coming. Because it was. Without a doubt. The sun was bight and hot overhead, and actually between the heat and her growing thirst, dehydration was going to be a real problem. It'd be a race, thirst over exhaustion. But Chin and Danny would find them before that.

"Boss, I feel kinda obliged to rant a little, on Danny's behalf. I really don't think you.. er we... thought this through exactly."

She should have stayed in bed today. She really should have. Somehow in the night, her cellphone and therefore her alarm clock, had fallen between the bed and nightstand, so she hadn't heard the muffled alarm. Waking up and realising the sky was far lighter than it should be, Kono had scrambled out of bed and stepped on the upturned plug of her cellphone charger – which had been damn painful. To add insult to injury, while hopping and hissing with pain, she'd then stubbed her toe on the edge of the nightstand. It should have been enough of a sign – stay in bed. Call in sick. Call in cursed. Whatever. Just don't go in.

"I'm going to find it pretty hard not telling the others how you fell in the water, Boss – and why I needed to dive in after you. Really, really hard. It's kinda funny."

Danny had been in a mood – mostly because of his knee, but also because Steve was in a good mood. Sometimes Kono thought Danny did it on purpose – if Steve was happy, he'd be grumpy, as if there was some team karma he had to balance out. And if McGarrett was grouchy, or stressed, Danny was light hearted and cheerful. It was kinda cute. Not that she'd ever tell them that. But Danny would be pissed about the smirk McGarrett had shot him as he ran off after the drug runners, leaving Danny and Chin behind with orders to – 'Call it in.' Danny's non-verbal order for her to follow his idiotic partner had been crystal clear.

Kono checked Steve's pulse again, reassured herself that he was breathing, face out of the water. He wasn't so much heavy as awkward, his bulk and bullet proof vest dragging them both down. But Kono was a strong swimmer and she kept them afloat with the odd kick and flurry of legs. "If you were awake, I'd be blackmailing you into giving me time off. My silence for a week's paid vacation."

Actually, if McGarrett had been awake, they'd probably be swimming for the shore. Navy Seal and Pro-surfer closing the distance, narrowing the search area. If Steve were awake, she wouldn't be in the water at all – she'd only dived in after him because he would have drowned otherwise.

"So, whaddya say, Boss? I'll blame the mean ole drug runners, you sign my leave form."

"Wha?" Steve startled, awake suddenly, thrashing instantly.

Alas, as Kono opened her mouth to reassure McGarrett, his surge to consciousness was accompanied by an actual surge of water, arms and elbows splashing and choking her. Still holding onto her barely there Boss, Kono spluttered and blinked water out of her eyes, "Steve, Boss, Boss. Stop."

She narrowly missed a flailing elbow, and squeezed her arm over his chest tightly, even as she tried to avoid getting kicked as McGarrett started treading water on his own. "Kono?"

"Yep, yep... just... "

McGarrett pulled away from her and groaned as the movement no doubt sent a wave of dizziness through his noggin. "Oh... crap." Kono squinted hopefully at the horizon, hoping either for a boat or chopper, any form of rescue, but it was depressingly bare. Steve stopped moving about and slipped into an economical tread, scanning the area, assessing their situation. "Kono?"

"I'm ok, Boss. You're the one with the concussion."

Steve gingerly touched the tender spot on his head and grunted, "How long was I out?"

Kono shrugged, "Ten minutes. A better question is – do you remember what happened? What day it is? Who the president is? How pissed Danny is going to be?"

Her face gave it away, probably but she couldn't help the smile. McGarrett's face crumpled in thought and Kono spotted the moment he remembered... and her smile blossomed, bright and wide. "Shit," Steve groaned.

She might have waggled her eyebrows a little, and even though their situation was still serious, and help nowhere in sight, it was impossible not to laugh at her Boss's crestfallen expression. "I didn't, did I?"

Flicking her wet hair out of her eyes, Kono grinned, "Oh, you did. Sorry, Boss."

Steve bit his lip and studied the horizon. It was difficult to tell, but his pupils seemed a little uneven and he was squinting more than the sun warranted. Kono turned to watch the horizon as well and spotted the helicopter at the same time as Steve.

"Yes!"

They both started waving, and yelling and the chopper headed straight for them. As it drew nearer, Steve half yelled, "What's it gonna take, Kono?"

Kono winked and pasted on an innocent expression, "A raise?"

McGarrett actually seemed to be considering it as the chopper flew overhead. "A week's leave and your sworn silence."

"Done!" Kono shook his hand fervently and beamed at him. She waved at Danny, who was leaning out of the open side of the helicopter, his hair all over the place and yelled over the noise of the rotor blades, "What are we going to tell them?"

Steve didn't answer and Kono didn't dare look at him, just in case she started laughing in earnest. Eventually, as the rescue harness was being prepped, he yelled, "I'll think of something.. just.."

Grinning, Kono shot her embarrassed Boss a look and laughed, "Don't mention that you tripped over a rope, clipped your head on the railing and fell overboard?"

"Yeah..." Steve grinned back at her, black eye developing nicely.

Kono shrugged, "Whatever you say ... Bossman."

The spray stirred up at the rotor blades whipped her wet hair into a frenzy, but Kono couldn't help feeling that the day hadn't turned out too bad afterall.

Fin.


End file.
